When Edinburgh Council meets next week to discuss how to progress the North-South tram extension, the tram-train project will be front and centre of the debate.
The recommendation to councillors is to concentrate on the southern leg of the route while keeping the northern part on the back burner – but still on the table.
A spokesperson for the group Tram Trains for Edinburgh (‘TTfE’) said they strongly support a full tram network, that would have both the Council’s North-South extension and the South Sub at its heart. This would be “connected at Cameron Toll, and the two lines would serve both the city and the wider region, reducing congestion and providing fast, efficient and ‘green’ public transport for all our residents”.
But the group also welcomes the highlighting of what they regard as major benefits from the tram project – addressing poor public transport in relatively deprived areas of SE Edinburgh, and the economic development potential from the trams project – notably the Bioquarter scheme that aims to provide thousands of new jobs.
The group also wants to emphasise that the South Sub project would equally target both those objectives – better public transport for SE Edinburgh and connectivity to the Bioquarter.
Rob Falcon, Chair of Tram Trains for Edinburgh, said: “We welcome the Council’s recognition that the next steps for both the tram extension and the South Sub are ‘complementary’ business cases.
“However, the reality is that the schemes themselves are complementary and need to be taken forward together as an ambitious plan to radically improve public transport across the Lothian region.
“In this case 2 + 2 really does make 5 – we need both lines to provide multiple journey options from a hub at Cameron Toll.”
